- MSN readers called out the site for publishing a story they believe was written by AI.
- The story's headline describes the late NBA player Brandon Hunter as "useless."
When Microsoft's MSN published a story on the unexpected death of a former NBA player, readers called out the strangely written article for being the work of artificial intelligence.
"Brandon Hunter useless at 42," the headline read.
A former NBA player dies young, and AI writes this headline:
— Joshua Benton (@jbenton) September 14, 2023
"Brandon Hunter useless at 42"
And check that prose:
"Former NBA participant Brandon Hunter who beforehand performed for the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, has handed away on the age of 42." https://t.co/xEvVVHo9DP pic.twitter.com/EiKlZEhluS
It described Hunter as a "former NBA participant" who was "handed away on the age of 42." The article was unintelligible in parts and poorly worded in others.
"Hunter's expertise led to his choice because the 56th general decide within the 2003 NBA Draft," the story read.
The news site Futurism was the first to report the story. Futurism senior staff writer Victor Tangermann noted that this wasn't the first time MSN has published a nonsensical AI-written story, pointing to a now-deleted Ottawa travel story that suggested readers check out the local food bank.
Readers took to X, formerly Twitter, and Reddit to point out the now-deleted obituary for its odd wording.
"AI should not be writing obituaries. Pay your damn writers MSN," one X user posted.
A Redditor speculated that the story may have been translated to another language then back to English to avoid detection for plagiarism.
"Wouldn't surprise me if they did, but it feels like an intentionally bad google translate to get around plagiarism," their comment read. "As the article was literally posted the same hour as other articles reporting on the same issue. And it feels like a bad google translate of the others."
A spokesperson for Microsoft didn't confirm nor deny that the article was generated by AI, but assured that it's been taken down from the MSN site.
"The accuracy of the content we publish from our partners is important to us, and we continue to enhance our systems to identify and prevent inaccurate information from appearing on our channels. The story in question has been removed," a Microsoft spokesperson told Insider.
Last month, Microsoft removed a handful of articles from its site made with "algorithmic techniques." One guide included the Ottawa Food Bank as a recommended attraction for tourists to visit.
TMZ reported Hunter's death on Tuesday. The former athlete played for the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic during his NBA career. The circumstances of his sudden death remain unclear.